Save an Ant, Save a Planet

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Save an Ant, Save a Planet Brian Fisher,
California Academy of Sciences
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1. What living things exist?
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2. Where do they live?
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210 inventory sites
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worker head measurements
HL
HW
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90 of taxonomic products
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never used
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• Systematists
• We provide an essential foundation for
  understanding, conserving, and using
  biodiversity.

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Museum warehouse of dead creatures
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Not a portal on life
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California Academy of Sciences
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Is taxonomy dead?
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no
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in the middle of a breakthrough
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but
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taxonomists are dying
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Does this matter?
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If you study
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less so
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But, if you like
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you are in trouble
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Why does this matter?
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Species Scape
Organisms drawn proportional to number of species
in each group
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Lots of undescribed species
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Fewer taxonomists
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"suicidal" experiment
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linked to understanding impact of human
activities
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simultaneous meltdown in financial system and
climate system
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toxic assetstoxic air
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Dow Jones index to the environment
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bioliteracy
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Alex Wild
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Original Habitats 10 remain
Using taxonomic data, the government will triple
protected habitat in 5 years
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Need Biodiversity Data
Fast Accurate Fine-scaled
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Components of diversity

• local diversity
• richness of local species assemblages
• measurement richness number of species
• turnover
• change in species composition between local
  species assemblages
• measurement complementarity or distinctness
  the proportion of all species in two sites that
  occurs in only one or the other of them

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fine scale planning

• maximizes biodiversity conservation
• required for implementation of management plans
  at local levels
• most important for heterogeneous and fragmented
  areas

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Why exclude insects?
Myths Too numerous to survey Lack quantitative
methods Protected by umbrella taxa Lack taxonomic
base Pests and dangerous
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Bioclimate
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Geology
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185 inventory sites
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Industrial-strength specimen processingstreamline
s data management
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• Develop inventory methods
• Establish processing centers
• Accelerate identification
• Apply to conservation

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worker head measurements
HL
HW
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DNA barcoding(biocoding)
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DNA Barcode
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12,000 sequences 600 species
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Voucher Specimens and minimalist barcodes
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Anochetus goodmani
Morphologically one species with deep
within-species CO1 divisions.
Fisher Smith 2008 PLoS ONE
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Mystrium mysticum
Mystrium fallux
Mystrium sp. nov.
Mystrium obertheri
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Molet, Peeters, Fisher. 2006.
Naturwissenschaften
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Formicidae Madagascar Estimation of
Diversity
268 specimens collected from 4 different sites.
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RESULTS No significant difference between
morphospecies or barcode OTUs estimates of
taxonomic richness
Smith et al 2005
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Equivalent patterns of species turnover
Smith et al 2005
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de facto database of invasive ants
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Kremen et al. 2008
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Collaborators

• Malagasy Arthropod Inventory Team
• Alex Smith, Paul Hebert, University of Guelph
• Christian Peeters, Université Pierre et Marie
  Curie

Arthropod Biodiversity CenterPark Tsimbazaza,
Madagascar